Method of assembling and wrapping articles



y 1, 1959 A. c. KRUKONIS 2,895,272

METHOD OF ASSEMBLING AND WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed July 18, 1957 INVENTOR5 P2 ALEXANDER C.KRUKONIS 38 ATTORNEY United States Patent METHOD OFASSEMBLING AND WRAPPING ARTICLES Alexander C. Krukonis, Auburn, Mass,assignor to Crompton & Knowles Corporation, Worcester, Mass., -acorporation of Massachusetts Original application June as, 1956, SerialNo. 593,582. ']6)7i;idec8l and this application July 18, 1957, SerialNo. ,64 p

tion Serial No. 593,582, filed June 25, 1956, which application relatesto wrapping a group of articles in such a manner as to permit theapplication of a mark or stamp to each article without removing thewrapper in which the articles are held. This divisional applicationrelates particularly to the method of assembling and wrapping articlessuch as, for instance, packages of cigarettes, said method not beingclaimed in the above identified original application.

-Manufacturers and wrappers of cigarette packages usually assemble, wrapand fasten the packages .in bundles or the like without making anyprovision for the application of an excise tax stamp to the packages, arequirement inmany of the states to which the bundles may .be shippedthroughout the nation. Distributors in such states must unfasten andunwrap each bundle, remove the .package from the wrapper, apply thestamps to the packages and rewrap the latter and fasten them into, abundle. In certain cases, the mark or stamp is applied'while the wrapperis not in its complete or final position, necessitating completion ofwrapping after application of: the

mark or stamp. These procedures are time-consuming and costly.

It is, therefore, an important object of the invention to provide abundle or group of packages or articles which are partly enclosed in awrapper having terminal edges between which a surface of each of theenclosed packages or articles is partially exposed thereby. permittingthe application of a mark or stamp without disturbing the fastener orremoving the packages or articles from the bundle or wrapper and whenthe wrapper is in'its complete and final position around the group.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved method ofmaking a bundle of articles in such manner that the folding of thewrapper around thearti- .cles will leave a surface of each articlebetween the terminal edges partly unwrapped to expose said surface ofeach article in the bundle the wrapper being so utilized so that anypart of theedges. will not be covere by any other part of the wrapper. I

Still another object of the invention is to provide wrapper meanshavinga length between terminal edges less than the girth of the group ofarticles to be wrapped whereby, upon wrapping the articles, the edges ofsaid wrapper means will be spaced from each other and unobstructed byany part of the wrapper on at least one side of the group to expose asubstantial surface of each of the articles.

A further object .of the invention is to partially expose a surface ofeach article by providing an opening-in the bundle extending lengthwiseof the latter, and defined by the aforementioned terminal edges betweenwhich a mark or stamp can be applied to each exposed surface of eacharticle.

A still further object of the invention is to provide wrapper meansconsisting of two sheets of material whereby, two rows of theaforementioned articles are wrapped,

ice

2 the edges of one sheet will be spaced from and face the edges of theother sheet to partially expose the surfaces of certain of the articleson one side of one row of the bundle and the surfaces of certain otherof the articles on another side of the other row in the bundle for theapplication thereto of a mark or stamp.

After the wrapper means has been placed partially around the group ofarticles it is a still further object of the invention to providefastener means to hold the wrapper means in position with respect to thearticles and also hold adjacent articles and rows to each other to forma strong, compact unit easy to handle and without obstructing thesurfaces to be marked or stamped.

For a further understanding of the invention, reference is made to theaccompanying drawing which illustrates by way of example threeembodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a bundle of articles or packagesillustrating the preferred form of the invention,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 2-2, Fig. 1, thecontents of the package not shown in section for clarity,

Fig. 3 is a plan view on a reduced scale of the wrapper for the bundleshown in Fig. l,

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a bundle showing the first modificationof the invention,

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 5-'5, Fig. 4, thecontents of the packages not shown in section for clarity,

v Fig. 6 is a plan, on a reduced scale, of the wrapper for the bundleshown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a bundle showing the second-modificationof the invention,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical section on line 8-8 of Fig. 7, thecontents of the packages not sectioned for clarity, and

I Fig. 9 is a plan view of the wrapper, on a reduced scale, for thebundle shown in Fig. 7. Referring to Fig. 1, a bundle generallyindicated at B has a group G of packages P substantially enclosed in awrapper 1. The packages P are arranged side by side in a single row andeach package P has a surface 2 which is in alignment with the adjacentsimilar surface. Each of these surfaces 2 are unobstructed by any otherpackage in the group and is accessible for application of a mark orstamp, as will be described hereinafter. The wrapper 1 is made from afoldable sheet such as paper, cellophane, etc. and is fastened inposition around the packages P by any convenient means, such as adhesivetapes 3, and its ends are folded in any well known manner as shown forinstance in Fig. 1 at the left-hand end thereof.

As shown in Fig. l the wrapper 1 has two top flat portions 4 and 5substantially parallel to and upon a part of the aligned surfaces 2.Portions 4 and 5 extend in a direction lengthwise of the bundle B andhave terminal edges 6 and 7 respectively to define an elongated openspace 8 therebetween to substantially expose surfaces 2. The distance ofthe wrapper between the edges 6 and 7 is shorter than the girth of thegroup of packages measured in a direction transverse of said edges. Thewrapper 1 has front and back portions 9 and 10 respectively, see Figs. 2and 3, contiguous with a bottom portion 11. Bundle B, Figs. 1 and 2, hastop, bottom and end folds or bends 12 and 13, 14 and 15, 16 and 17respectively which are also indicated by dot and dash When a bundle tobe assembled the packages P will amaze;

be grouped side by side and placed on the wrapper 1 in the space or areabounded by the lines 14 to 17 after which the portions 8 and 9 will befolded alongthe front and back sides respectively of the packagesfollowed by the folding of the portions 4 and 5 along the top ofthepackages as seen for instance in Fig. 2. The ends of the wrapper thenare folded into position to complete the wrapping. The terminal edges 6and 7 fall short of each other for the reasons stated hereinbefore. Uponthe completion of wrapping the packages the fasteners or tapes 3 areapplied as suggested in Figs. 1 and 2. Parts of the tapes will adhere tothe wrapper and packages simultaneously to hold the Wrapper in positionand adjacent packages to each other. The tapes extend along the edges 6and 7 and hold the latter flat and surfaces 2 and are applied in amanner so as not to obstruct the surfaces to be stamped or marked.

In the first modification of the invention, referring particularly toFig. 4, a bundle generally indicated. at B1 has its packages P1 arrangedend up. in two rows with their fiat broad sides vertical and at ,thefront and back sides of the bundle. "A wrapper 20 substantiallysurrounds the packages P1 and has fiat top portions 21 and 2.2 withterminal edges 23and 24 respectively to define an opening therebetween.Bundle B1, see Figs. 4 and,5, has top, bottom and end folds or bends 25and 26, 27 and 28, 29 and 30 respectively which are also representedbydot and dash lines in Fig. '6 and shown therein for the same reasonsgiven with reference to Fig. 3. Top cross tapes 32 and end tapes 33 areapplied transversely of said opening to hold the wrapper 20 in positionaround the packages P1 and the articles with respect to each other.

When a bundle is to be made up as shown in Fig. 4 the packages P1 aregrouped in two rows as illustrated in that figure and placed on thewrapper 20 in the space defined by the lines 27-30 after which theWrapper is folded around the packages in a manner similar to thatexplained with reference to the preferred form of the invention. Thetapes 32 and 33 are then applied to firmly hold the bundle together. Ifdesired, the bundle B1 may be held together byusing the tapesillustrated in Fig. 1 and applying them along the portions 21 and 22 andthence downwardly to hold the end folds and the Wrapper in positionaround the packages.

In the modification shown in Fig. 7 a bundle generally indicated at B2has its packages P2 grouped in two rows in the same manner as shown inFig. 4. In this case, however, the packages P2 are wrapped so that abroad surface 34 of one row of each package P2, Fig. 8, is exposed andits opposite surface abuts a similar surface in a manner so that asurface similar to that of 34 will be exposed in the other row. Thepackages are partly enclosed in Wrappers 36 and 37 which are identical,but not necessarily so, and only one will be described, namely, Wrapper37. In Fig. 9 the wrapper 3.7 has shown thereon dot and dash lines 38-41to indicate where the folds or bends will occur when the, packages arewrapped. The 'wrapper 37 has terminal edges 42 and 43 which will faceand be spaced from similar edges, on wrapper 36 when the wrappers are inposition around thepackages as shown in Fig. 8. A tape 44 at the leftend of the bundle, Fig. 7, holds the wrappers in fixed relationship witheach other. In like manner a tape (not shown) at the other end of thebundle is employed for the same purpose as is tape 44. These tapes donot obstruct any part or portion of surfaces 34 in one row nor do theyobstruct any surfaces in the other row that are similarto surfaces 34;

When a bundle is to be assembled as shown :in Fig. 7 the packages P2will be grouped as seenfin that, figure and set in the space bounded'bylines '38 to 41. The wrapper 37 then will be partially folded up andaround the packages and in like manner the wrapper 36 will be partial-1y folded down and around the packages. Tape 44 will then be applied tothe ends of the. bundle. tohold the end folds and wrapper in position.Tapes such as are i1- 4 lustrated in Fig. 1 or 4 may be used withlorwithout tape 44 if desired.

It is to be understood that the tapes are only one means of fasteningthe wrappers in place, and any other means may be used, such as awrapper having gummed surfaces adjacent its edges or made of a heatsealed thermoplastic sheet. Moreover the invention is not limited to thequantity or type of articles or arrangements thereof, as shown in thedrawing. It is obvious that other quantities, types of articles orarrangements may be employed. When the marks or stamps are to be appliedto the packages (in all three forms of the invention) the bundles willbe placed on a support S and the marks or stamps applied to the exposedsurfaces of thepackages or articles between the terminal edges of thewrappers. Each package 'orarticle will have at least a part of onesurface unobstructed byany other article and accessible to receivethemark or stamp.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides a groupof articles or packages wrapped in such a manner as to have at least oneunobstructed and accessible surface of each article partly exposed toreceive a mark, stamp or the like. The articles are partial- :lyenclosed 'in wrappermeans having a length less than the girth of thegroup of articles to be wrapped whemby, upon completion of wrapping,certain edges of the wrapper means will fall short of each other to forman open space between said edges to expose on at least one side of thegroup of articles surfaces for the application thereto of a mark orstamp. Also, provision is made to hold the wrapper in wrapped positionwhile around the articles so as not to substantially obstruct thesurfaces, at the same time holding adjacent articles or packages or rowsof packages to each other. The invention also sets forth the methodwhereby the articles are arranged in a group after which wrapper meansis folded around the group to leave at least part of the surface of eacharticle unwrapped.

Having now described and ascertained the nature of-thc invention and inWhat manner the same is to be performed, it will be seen that changesand modifications may be made without departing from the scope andspirit of the invention, and what is claimed is:

'1. The method of assembling and wrapping packages -of cigarettes andhaving the packages in a group on one side of which each package willhave an unobstructed surface, the method consisting in the followingsteps:

partly enclosing said group in a wrapper having a length lessithanthegirth of the group with the ends of the wrap- :per spaced from eachother alongsaid side of the group in a maimer such that no other part ofthe wrapper will :extend over any part of said ends and to expose apartsteps; arranging two rows of articles in a group so that each of saidsurfaces of each row will be accessible and unobstructed'by anyother-article in the other row in said group, preparing a wrapper havinga length, "between lengthwise edges of the wrapper, less than the girthof said two rows "in the group of articles to be wrapped,

placing said two rows in the group on the wrapper-in such position thatan elongated opening will be formed between the "edges of the wrapperwhen the latter is folded in positionyfolding the wrapper in such'amanner aroundihe two rows in the :group that said edges will face and bespaced from each other to expose part of the aligned, flat surface ofeach article in each row, and applying fastener means transversely ofsaid opening to fasten the articles and wrapper and said two rows Withrespect to each other in a manner to hold one of said edges flat on saidsurfaces in one row and the other of said edges flat on said surfaces inthe other row such that the fastener means does not substantiallyobstruct said part of said surfaces.

3. The method set forth in claim 2 wherein an additional and final stepconsists in applying a mark or stamp between said edges and saidfastener means onto each ex v 6 posed surface of each article in eachrow when the wrapper is fastened in its complete and final positionaround said group.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,877,042 Pearce Sept. 13, 1932 2,119,956 McDonnell June 7, 19382,216,884 Kott Oct. 8, 1940 2,291,645 Nordquist Aug. 4, 1942 2,456,059Grupe Dec. 14, 1948

